What Lies Within
by Mars Nine
Summary: Kyuubi (Nine-Tails) was once known as the assassin of all assassins. He’d kill your target and slay you just as easily. The moonlit beauty of the world, he was followed by everyone and anyone that met or hired him. Unfortunately, that was twenty years ago
1. Prologue : Introduction

What Lies Within

by Chaos

Warnings: AU; TWT; OOC; some might say PWP; oh, first attempt back at writing for over a year...; NC-17 (overall rating --- all lemons will be archived off-site; don't worry, I will specify where to go... I hate for this, but sigh); and 'cuz I'm lazy, everything else will be a surprise, okay? Yippie! Jesus, this thing seems a bit too trippy, even for me...

To him, it seemed like an eternity before he could open his eyes and blink stupidly into the light. Groaning he rolled over and tried to bury his face in his pillow, willing himself to be smothered within the utter fluffiness of its being. Unfortunately, the voice within his head grated at him so thoroughly he had no choice but to give an indignant shout and roll back over to stare at the sagging ceiling above him.

He had a reason to be annoyed with himself. Every time he had tried to die, he had been stopped by an incessant little voice, nagging at the back of his head. Recently it had been getting louder and louder, and it had reached the point of where he couldn't ignore it anymore. Somehow, that pissed him off a lot more than he figured it should have.

Plastering on a cheerful smile that seemed awkward amongst his sleep deprived blue eyes, he shoved the door open, which took a few tries as the old wooden barrier loathed to cooperate with him, and fought with him as most it could. He figured it was giving in though.

Greeting the morose sunshine that seemed to wish it was anywhere but there, he grinned widely, his teeth glinting and his eyes sparkling as their owner seemed to ponder just how he could rile up the townspeople this day...

"KONNICHIWA MINNA!" Naruto shouted while streaking through the streets, his laughter leaving an eerie echo behind him, a faint shell of happiness protecting the fragile tears that lay within.

A/N: I deserve this... but holy crap, what kind of hell have I dropped into? This is going to be way, _way_ AU, if you haven't already noticed... I sort of wished I was going to start things off a little differently, and then I started feeling like a hamster on crack and ... I really have no excuse... I want to go write some lemons now, but I have to leave in... well actually no I don't so I might go do that, but I doubt they'll see the light of day until I get back into writing again, if you know what I mean...


	2. Chapter 1 : more like prologue 2

First attempt at writing (coming straight from 1+ year hiatus x.x), you must be kind... Haven't really figured out what I'm doing yet, but I'm doing a somewhat... introspective piece, but not really... x.x gomen. And, for all of you that have known me for writing 8-9 page chapters... Forget it. I'm too lazy for that... I have to leave in twenty minutes anyway...

To all of you who gave this a chance, I have a proper idea now and also I have a summary now (it's probably the most cliché thing I could come up with, but you have to take into account that I'm still recovering from... yeah, nevermind):

Kyuubi (Nine-Tails) was once known as the assassin of all assassins. He'd kill your target and slay you just as easily. The moonlit beauty of the world, he was followed by everyone and anyone that met or hired him. Unfortunately, that was twenty years ago, and no one had seen him since.

This mysterious and quite supernatural entity has finally been tracked down again, but... things just aren't what they seem...

Naruto was just shy of seventeen years and lived in a small village called Konoha. Despite the majority of the other town inhabitants, he didn't lust for the world outside of the village borders and not being the female sex, he didn't feel the need to throw himself at every traveler that came through town, hoping to get swept off his feet so he had an excuse to leave.

Of course, even if he didn't want to leave his quaint home, he did like the prospect of exploring and adventure. Travelers and drifters weren't uncommon, so when that surprisingly brisk June day came along and he stepped into the local ramen shop coming face-to-face with three strangers, he wasn't surprised. He even held a small hope that they might want to talk to him about their adventures (hell, last time travelers came along, the man had almost talked Naruto's ear off...).

The three strangers were all male and unfortunately not the most attractive beings in existence. They all stank of days to weeks without a wash and their other personal hygiene wasn't too pretty either. Their clothing hung from them in rags and they were shouting at each other in a guttural tongue that Naruto hoped was a different language because if they were talking in his, then they'd warped it beyond all repair.

"'Ey there pretty boy," one of the men shouted at him and Naruto winced at the brash sound of his voice. "c'mere for a minute."

Naruto turned away, deciding that the best plan of action would be to ignore the obviously drunken bastards, since he already had deemed their everyday talk unintelligible anyhow. Waving a little to the harassed looking owner of the shop, he was startled to feel slimy hands grabbing his arm.

"Hey, let go!" Naruto hissed, pulling away easily. Despite his looks, he was fully capable of taking care of himself, even if idiots like them thought otherwise. His eyes darted to the doorway as he tried to think of the fastest way to leave so he didn't have to involve the other customers.

"I thought I said, I wanted you to come here." The man spoke, more intelligently this time.

Naruto briefly wondered if he had made a mistake... then, he went crashing to the ground. He heard screams coming from the other people within the shop and then...

"I said to fucking let me go you fucking bastards!" Naruto shrieked, vaulting to his feet and turning to face the sickly grin of his attacker. He couldn't look at those bleary eyes for long before his own eyes started to water. He shivered.

Was everything just going to end like this then? He had been hiding out for five years in this new vessel, and as far as he knew, he thought he had been doing a pretty damn good job... of course, this blonde was the epitome of 'idiot', and Kyuubi cursed himself for this obviously glaring oversight.

Naruto tried to keep calm as he looked towards the entrance again. He could make it, but that would only help to further prove that he was who he didn't want to be. He snarled and bared his teeth at his attacker who laughed in response.

"You idiots have started playing without me?" came a cold voice from the entrance.

Naruto looked over and the dark red bled back from his eyes so they returned to their crystal blue. Standing there, silhouetted by the bright morning light from outside was a young man, maybe in his early twenties. Dark hair and dark eyes were burned into his memory and he couldn't keep back a soft gasp of delighted surprise. What a tasty treat this was... but, what did he taste like?

Naruto narrowed his eyes and leapt backwards from the table he had been precariously perched upon. He landed nimbly on his feet and crouched low to absorb his weight before straightening regally, with just a bit of cowering in his presence. After all, even though he loathed to do so, he had to pretend he was an innocent. Of course, his little acrobatics might have just made it worse...

"Sasuke-sama..." mumbled one of the goons that had been attacking him.

Naruto snorted softly. Now he had a name, but he still didn't know how 'Sasuke' tasted. Would he be sweet? Or would he be...

"Why on earth are you attacking this poor boy?" Sasuke asked, his voice laced with deep sarcasm, hidden behind even deeper sweetness. It was an utterly sickening sound to those _truly_ listening, however to any other --- they might just fall in love.

Naruto decided this 'sweet-tasting' boy might just be his ticket out of here so he smiled grotesquely at the goons before Sasuke turned to look back at him. So, perhaps it was a childish gesture, but it was unnervingly satisfying.

"He's the 'Kyuubi!'" shouted one of the men and Naruto hissed so loudly the sound filled the entire shop.

'Well, now that my secret is out, I better scram...' Naruto glared daggers at the man before leaping to the side, easily dodging the clumsy attempts of capture and shot out the entryway, a phantom afterimage of three tails skating after him.

"Kyuubi?" Sasuke murmured, his eyes narrowing to slits. "How interesting."

A/N: I might write more, and then again I might just leave fandom again... anyway, if this formats incorrectly then I'll have to fix it when I get back, because I have no patience for it right now and I have to leave on a previous engagement, so...


	3. Chapter 2 : Kicking the 'Naruto Habit'…

Gomen nasai for the deathly long wait. It's all my fault too. First, the internet went down, right? Common excuse, but it was true. I had to reboot it 20+ times before it stayed stable. Then I went on vacation to Wales and London for two weeks. Then, I started a new story, entirely private as of yet (seems I haven't kicked the GW habit yet)... Finally, to top it all off, I forgot completely about this story... x.x Stupid, isn't it?

Naruto knelt down by the clear blue stream and dipped his hands in the slow running water. The sounds it made as it ran over his fingers soothed him and he listened to it for a while before splashing the cool liquid over his face. It was a shock to his gradually warming body, which had been getting accustomed to the sun and he shook his head wildly, spraying droplets everywhere.

It was moments like these that he treasured the most. Ones where he was absolutely alone and could drop the silly façade of being the happy-go-lucky idiot whom everyone could point at and say they were better then. For once, Naruto wanted to have someone take care of him and believe in him for who he was, not some silly charade or act he put on.

"I found you, Kyuubi," came a sharp voice from behind him and Naruto bristled immediately.

Naruto leapt up and whirled around to see Sasuke sitting upon a white horse. It was a brilliant contrast, for Sasuke was wearing all black, bar the sparkling blue clasp that held his cape together. Suddenly, Naruto felt very inferior, faced with this regal image. Narrowing his eyes he hissed in a feral manner, which did nothing to make him feel better. Sasuke seemed amused at this and Naruto felt even worse. How dare this complete stranger make his somewhat perfect life turn upside-down!

Sasuke urged his horse down the hillside towards him and Naruto felt a brief sense of panic at his rapidly decreasing personal space. So this stranger was attractive and interesting, which was very rare for a foreigner... still, even if he hadn't been here long he felt that this was his home ground. Why then, did it seem like he was losing?

"What do you want from _me_?" Naruto asked, stressing each word individually.

The predatory gaze fixed upon him gained an expression of glee. It was a challenge... no a threat. "I don't want anything _from_ you, I want _you_." Sasuke said.

Naruto felt confused for a moment by all the emotions running through his mind. "Wh-What do you mean?" he asked, backing away on reflex. From any tactical point of view, he knew Sasuke had the advantage. It irritated him for some reason.

"Don't be stupid."

Baring his teeth, Naruto continued backing away. This wasn't a good position to be in. He clenched his fingers into fists and made a decision. If this idiot wanted to see Kyuubi, then he might as well oblige.

He leapt forward, hands reaching for Sasuke. He reveled in the sense of pleasure he felt as Sasuke pulled his horse back and vaulted off backwards. Naruto scanned the area and decided he'd run for it. He knew the area well enough and was pretty sure he could get away without having to exert _too_ much energy.

However, before he could get very far, he heard an exasperated growl and felt an awful pain in his neck. Swallowing, he looked down with his eyes to see Sasuke holding a long bladed sword to his neck. Giving in to the inevitable, he decided he'd have to fight then.

Catching Sasuke by surprise, he bent backwards and then rolled to the side. He felt a feeling of loose and quite destructive emotions before he struck out with his leg and swept Sasuke's feet out from under him. Sasuke was up faster than Naruto had predicted and he didn't look too pleased.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked, panting a little. It wasn't that he was out of shape or anything, but a five-year hiatus was a bit more than just a break.

"How does this concern you?" Sasuke asked, flinging off his cape, which really wasn't so elegant anymore.

"Well, I'd like to know who's trying to kill me!" Naruto said in an annoyed tone.

Sasuke laughed. "I'm not trying to kill you."

Streaking forwards, he grasped Naruto by the left arm and flung him over his shoulder. Naruto grunted as he landed upon his back. Sasuke wasted no time and straddled his hips, while pinning his arms to the ground.

Naruto blinked. "What are you doing?"

"Don't be stupid, Usuratonkachi. What do you think I'm doing?" Sasuke gripped his wrists tighter and licked Naruto's neck lightly, just enough to tickle and send shivers throughout Naruto's body.

"I don't know, but you're making me nervous!"

Sasuke chuckled. "You can't possibly, not know what I'm doing now."

Naruto groaned softly as Sasuke reached down and rubbed him through his pants. What was this exquisite feeling, trying to take over him? Panic shot through him and he shoved Sasuke away. Then he was falling...

Naruto's eyes snapped open and he reached out on instinct. He grabbed onto a branch and swung himself on top of it. He observed the scratches on his arms and then winced as light struck his eyes. He shaded them with his hand and saw leaves surrounding him. He felt the rough bark against his legs and the cool breeze upon his arms. He knew where he was now, he had fallen asleep in a tree.

Voices from below startled him so much he almost fell from his perch again. He looked down and saw three girls laughing and talking as they walked down the pathway. Breathing a sigh of relief, he began climbing down from the tree.

"There you are, Kyuubi," came a soft voice.

Naruto froze.

Um... I already want to kill this story... I'm really bored of it. I want to kill it...


End file.
